Catalina Shortwave – Radio Voodoo – Songs From the Dark End of the Dial

Based in western Connecticut, Catalina Shortwave spends a lot of time in the New England woods, and it shows in their music’s refreshingly organic tone. With their new album “Radio Voodoo – Songs From the Dark End of the Soul,” you get the idea right away with the opening jam, “Your Old Letters.” This is just good old fashioned, homegrown rock n’ roll.

The best way to describe their sound is that it would not seem out of place on the soundtrack to any mid to late 80s horror movie(think “The Wraith” with Charlie Sheen.) That is of course, a good thing. Connecticut and New England bands tend to trend toward indie or hipster aesthetic. Catalina Shortwave give off more of a veteran, musician vibe. The vocals stand out in particular. The singer, David Rizzo, can really sing. I’m talking Iron Maiden quality here singing here. You won’t find a bunch of autotune or pitch correction on these recordings. The guitars have the perfect amount of distortion and have achieved that tube-warmth tone every audiophile is on a quixotic quest for.

My favorite track on the album is Darkstar, an action packed track which perfectly encapsulates this style of music.